SMED: SMart Chair for Emotion Detection

The paper presents the concept of SMED, a smart chair designed for real-time monitoring of patients’ vital signs like heart rate and respiratory rate and a functional prototype developed to evaluate the effectiveness of the concept. The prototype leverages a strain gauge system integrated into a harmonic steel to detect changes in body pressure and vibrations. Physiological data of interest are obtained using the ballistocardiography methodology. The final goal of this work is to enhance the quality of care and support for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who face difficulties in communicating their emotions, stress and discomfort, during medical or dental visits.